Lael Wilcox Becomes Fastest Woman to Cycle Around The World
Ride
Ultra-cyclist Lael Wilcox has become the fastest woman to ride around the world solo. Wilcox crossed four continents during the 108-day, 12-hour, and 12-minute ride, clocking up 18,125 miles / 29,169km in the process.
Starting in Chicago on May 26, Lael cycled to New York before flying across the Atlantic to Portugal. She then cycled through Europe to Georgia, before taking a plane down to Australia and cycling from Perth to Brisbane. New Zealand was next, before she boarded a flight to Alaska, headed down to LA, and then returned to Chicago yesterday evening.
To break the previous record set in 2018 by Scotland's Jenny Graham (124 days, 11 hours), Lael spent up to 14 hours per day in the saddle, often covering distances of more than 186 miles / 300km, and occasionally more than 248 miles / 400km.
She is now waiting for official ratification from Guinness World Records. To be eligible for the world record, a rider must start and end their journey in the same place, travel continuously in one direction, and cover more than 18,000 miles / 28,970 km by bike (with a total trip distance, including flights, of 24,854 miles / 40,000km - the circumference of the equator). Once started, the clock does not stop during the attempt.
Prior to her world record attempt, Lael had already built up a prodigious ultra-cycling CV. The Alaskan holds the women's records for both the Trans Am and the Tour Divide
